This invention relates generally to telecasting systems and particularly to telecasting systems that transmit digital data which may be used to provide interactive applications for use by television viewers. More particularly, this invention is directed toward a system and method that use digital data transmitted in a telecasting system to provide an event database that viewers may access while watching television.
Many cable television systems are in the process of replacing, or have recently completed replacing, their conventional coaxial cable networks with higher bandwidth hybrid fiber optic coaxial (HFC) networks. These cable systems have greater channel capacities and are thus able to offer greater programming variety to their subscribers. Direct broadcast satellite (DBS) systems also have high channel capacities and are therefore able to offer a wide variety of television programming to their subscribers as well.
The increased channel capacity available in many cable systems and DBS systems have allowed these systems to increase the number of live events that are telecast to their subscribers. These live events, which may be of local, regional or national interest, may include, for example, sporting events, political events, judicial events, community events, entertainment events, as well as various other types of events.
Although the improvement in the number and the variety of televised live events is generally welcomed by subscribers, it may be difficult for subscribers to determine if any particular event is worth viewing at the expense of missing other television programming that may be of interest. Some viewers may wish to tune to a particular live event only at certain points in the event that are deemed to be significant. However, television viewers generally have no way of knowing when to tune to the live event because they do not know when the significant moments of a live event are going to occur. Many viewers try to solve this problem by tuning back and forth between channels, but this approach generally is considered to be cumbersome and distracting.
Many television viewers want to be informed of certain events which may be in progress while they are watching television programs, even if those events are not being telecast. For example, while viewing a particular football game on television, many viewers enjoy keeping track of the scores, statistics and highlights of other untelevised games being played at the same time. For many viewers, updates of the untelevised games provided by play-by-play announcers are not satisfactory because they do not occur frequently enough and do not provide sufficient detail.
Some telecasting systems offer sports packages that allow viewers to choose from several simultaneously telecast football games. Viewers in these systems generally want to spend most of their time watching the games in which their favorite teams are participating. However, many viewers would like the opportunity to tune to another game at significant moments without having to flip between channels to determine when such significant moments are occurring.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a system and method for presenting on a television, a combined display of information contained in an event database and television program video content.
It also would be desirable to provide a system and method for presenting on a television, information contained in an event database, wherein the displayed information pertains to televised events.
It would be further desirable to provide a system and method for presenting on a television, information contained in an event database, wherein the event database and the presented information are updated substantially in real-time.
It would be even further desirable to provide a system and method for presenting on a television, information contained in an event database, wherein the displayed information pertains to televised events and the system and method automatically tune, at the viewer's request, to an event for which information is being displayed.